The System Gets Rigged

Unless You Vote

July 25, 2014 August Primary Election Issue #1 No. 14-9E
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Is It Really Too Much
Trouble To Vote?
We know we should vote, but . . .
Only A Few Choices On The
Ballot? Its not worth going to the
polls for only a few choicesright?
Wrong! Not voting for one of those
four choices can make your life
miserable for the next four years!
Not Retired? Unless youre
retired, getting to the polls on
a work day can be a terrible
imposition. And if youre working
two or three jobsforget it! Work
schedules often just dont allow
time to go vote.
Early Voting Helps Although
you have more days to choose from,
the poll hours are limited: 10am to
6pm, inconvenient for working folk.
If youre not working, youd like to
spend time with your family on the
little time off from work that you
have.
And Those Drive-You-Nuts
Phone and Robo-Calls!
Did you know many of them will
stop soon after your ballot is
received by the Supervisor of
Elections?
Theres no point for the
campaigns in calling anyone to
change their mind after they
already voted. Make sense?
So the earlier you vote, the sooner
the annoying calls will slow.
5 TALKING POINTS
1. Vote At Home By Mail!
Vote for Democrats at
all levels. Vote all choices.
2. Vote At Home By
Mail! Its secure
and counted frst in
Florida!
3. Vote At Home By
Mail! Your vote will
countdespite rain,
hurricane, sickness,
work schedule, child
scheduleor a trip up
north!
4. Vote At Home By Mail!
Youll have a chance to
study the candidates
and amendments. Youll
feel so smart!
5. Vote At Home By Mail!
Primary Election, August 26, 2014
[See Candidate Listings And Ballot Questions On Page 3]
Its Not Too Late To
Request A Vote-By-Mail Ballot
561-656-6200 or 866-868-3321 toll free
NOTE: You can request a mail ballot up to August 19th.
But Mail Is Best You can
vote by mail. You dont have to
find an excuse to vote by mail
its no longer called an absentee
ballot. You may now call it a
Vote From Home ballot or a
Vote In Your Pajamas ballot!
Or even Vote In Your Birthday
Suit ballot.
Mail Ballots Will Be
Mailed About July 25th
11
Check Your Voting Status Now!
Verify to make sure the Supervisor of Elections offce
has your voter registration and mail ballot request.
See page 6.
When Are Mail Ballots Counted?
I have heard voters who have moved
to Florida from other states comment
that Absentee Ballots are only counted
in elections when the results are too
close to call a winner.
In Florida we have learned the
importance of Every Vote Counts
and most especially in Palm Beach
County where we have consistently
seen elections won and lost by only a
few votes.
Theyre Counted First I want to
assure the voters of Palm Beach
County that their Supervisor of
Elections Always Counts Absentee
Ballots First in every election.
The state law allows the Supervisor to
begin comparing signature similarities
from the voter fle, to the signature on
the outside of the absentee ballot
envelope, open the absentee ballot
and send the paper ballot through our
high speed counters 15 days prior to
each election. We are not allowed to
complete the counting process and hit
the total button until after 7:00 p.m.
on Election Night.
Mail Ballots Are Reported First
The frst election results on Election
Night are always posted on our web site
at 7:30 p.m. These votes represent our
already opened and processed absentee
ballots. Because we continue to receive
absentee ballots up until 7:00 p.m. on
Election Day at our main offce and
from the post offce that day, we
continue to add to the absentee ballot
totals until every absentee ballot has
been processed and counted.
[Continued on page 6, Nonpartisan
What Is A Primary in Florida?
When two or more individuals in either the
Republican or Democratic Party qualify as
candidates for elected offce, the Supervisor of
Elections holds a primary in August to determine
the partys candidate for the November General
Election. Primaries are held ten weeks before the
November General Election.
The candidate with the highest number of votes in
the August Primary goes on to represent the party
in the November General Election.
What Is A Closed Primary?
Florida has closed primaries which means only
registered Republicans can vote in the Republican
Primary; only registered Democrats in the
Democratic Primary. Crossover voting is not
permitted. Therefore you must register as a
Republican or Democrat to vote for candidates in
your respective party primary in August.
**Universal Primary Contest If all
candidates for an offce have the same party
affliation and the winner will have no opposition
in the November General Election, then all
qualifed voters, regardless of party affliation, are
allowed to vote in the August Primary for that
offce.
Automatic Election After the August Primary,
if there is only one candidate for an elected offce
(that is, there is no candidate from the opposing
party running in the November General Election),
that candidate is automatically elected and his or
her name will not appear on the ballot in the
November General Election.
Nonpartisan Elections
Nonpartisan elections are held in conjunction
with the August Primary elections. All voters
regardless of party affliation may participate in
the non-partisan elections.
Absentee Ballots Are Always
Counted First In Florida
by Susan Bucher
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections
2
FEDERAL
CONGRESS
U.S. Representative, Dist. 20 - Democratic Party
Jean L. Enright
Alcee L. Hastings (Incumbent)
Jameel McCline
U.S. Representative, Dist. 21 - Democratic Party
Ted Deutch (Incumbent)
Emmanuel G. Morel
STATE:
EXECUTIVE
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Democratic Party
Charlie Crist/Not Yet Designated
Nan H. Rich/Not Yet Designated
Attorney General - Democratic Party
George Sheldon
Perry E. Thurston
STATE HOUSE
State District Representative, Dist. 81
(Universal Primary Contest. See page 2**)
Joshua Izaak
Kevin Rader (Incumbent)
FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT (Palm Beach County)
(Non-Partisan)
[Most criminal and civil cases originate at the Circuit court
level, the circuit Court handles cases over $15,000.]
Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 14
Diana Lewis (Incumbent)
Jessica Ticktin
Circuit Court Judge, Grp. 30
Maxine Cheesman
Jaimie Goodman
Peggy Rowe-Linn
COUNTY:
COUNTY COMMISSIONER,
Dist. 6 - Democratic Party
Kathy Foster (D)
Melissa Mckinlay (D)
SCHOOL BOARD (Non-Partisan)
School Board, Dist. 3
Karen Brill (Incumbent) (D)
John Michael Hartman (R)
David Benoit Mech (L)
School Board, Dist. 4
Justin Katz (D)
Larry Rosensweig (D)
Tom Sutterfeld (R)
Erica Whitfeld (D)
School Board, Dist. 6
Marcia Andrews (Incumbent) (D)
Carla Donaldson (D)
Joe Moore (R)
PALM BEACH COUNTY DEMOCRATIC AUGUST PRIMARY BALLOT
(ALL CANDIDATES AND QUESTIONS)
Non-partisan (except for judicial contests): (D) Registered Democrat - (R) Registered Republican - (L) Registered Libertarian
School Board, Dist. 7
Piaget Peppi Hendrix (D)
Debra L. Robinson (Incumbent) (D)
SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICTS
(Non-Partisan)
Indian Trail Improvement District Seat 3
Ralph Bair (Incumbent) (D)
Alan Ballweg (D)
David A. Bradley (D)
Jupiter Inlet Commission District 4
Shawn Ray Lopez (D)
Kenneth H. Mays, Jr. (D)
MUNICIPAL:
DELRAY BEACH: BALLOT QUESTION
Question One
Charter Amendment Removal Of The
Manager
The charter currently requires the affrmative vote of four
members of the commission to terminate the city manager.
Under the proposed charter amendment, the affrmative
vote of at least three members of the commission would be
required to terminate the city manager.
Shall the charter amendment be adopted? [Yes/No]
LAKE WORTH: BALLOT QUESTION
Primary Election 08/26/2014
CITY OF LAKE WORTH QUESTION
Vote For 1
APPROVAL OF LAKE WORTH 2020 BONDS FOR
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WITHIN
THE CITY.
Shall the City of Lake Worth be authorized to issue bonds to
acquire and improve roadway, sidewalk, streetlight,
streetscape,drainage and water and sewer facilities located
within the City in one or more series not exceeding a total
principal amount of $63,500,000, payable from an annual
ad valorem tax maturing not later than 30 years from the
date of each issuance and bearing interest at a rate not
exceeding the maximum legal rate?
[For Bonds/Against Bonds]
SOUTH BAY: BALLOT QUESTION
Primary Election 08/26/2014
CITY OF SOUTH BAY QUESTION
Vote For 1
A REFERENDUM FOR THE REVISION OF THE
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BAY.
1. A revision of the City Charter for the appointment of a City
Commissioner by the remaining Commissioners in the event
of resignation, suspension, removal or death of a sitting
Commissioner.
Do you agree with the proposed revision to Chapter 1 of the
City of South Bay, Florida Charter? [Yes/No]
3
Hi Neighbor.
Now Or Later? If you already received your
Vote-by-Mail ballot (and/or havent voted yet),
or if you plan to vote later at the polls, Id like
to share my experience with you.
Your Precinct 4178 Ballot If you are
registered in Precinct 4178 as Other, you
have these 2 choices:
Circuit Judge, Group 14
Diana Lewis
Jessica Ticktin
Circuit Judge, Group 30
Maxine Cheeseman
Jamie Goodman
Peggy Rowe-Linn
If you are registered in Precinct 4178 as
Democrat, you have these 2 additional choices:
Governor
Charlie Crist
Nan H. Rich
Attorney General
George Sheldon
Perry E. Thurston
Editors Choice During the campaign season,
Ive been fortunate enough to meet, listen to,
and question every one of the candidates on
your ballot.
For Governor, I pick Charlie Crist. Either
candidate would make a fine governor. Either
one would be a welcome change from our present
governor. However, Nan Rich does not have the
funds, name recognition, or charisma to win in
the November election.
For Attorney General, I pick George Sheldon.
Again, either candidate would make a fine
attorney general. Both have had much experience
in many areas of government, however George
Sheldons credentials and experience are the
more extensive of the two.
For Circuit Judge, Group 14, I find it a
toss up. The incumbent Judge Lewis judicial
demeanor leaves much to be desired and many
of her decisions have been overturned in
higher courts. Jessica Ticktin has much less
experience. I have a tendency to vote for the
less experienced than the proven intemperate.
So Ill vote for Jessica Ticktin.
For Circuit Judge Group 30, I pick Jamie
Goodman. He is a constitutional law student
and has judicial temperament.
For Precinct 4178 Voters
Dan I s aac s on - Pr ec i nc t 41 78
6055 Verde Trail South, Apt. H219, Boca Raton, FL 33433-4423
disaacson6055@gmail.com
713.876.7011
You may take this into the Polls with you.
Not approved by or coordinated with any candidate.
You may take this into the Polls with you.
Not approved by or coordinated with any candidate.
44
Dan Isaacson, Editor
The Democratic Voter
The Enlightened Voter
St. Andrews Estates South
6055 Verde Trail South, Apt.H219
Boca Raton, FL 33433-4423
713-876-7011
August 4, 2014
Dear Neighbor,
Last Printed Copy? If you received this copy
by USMail, Im sorry to report that this may be
your last printed copy of The Voter
Publications. We fnd that printing and mailing
costs are just too costly.
Email? If you have an email address, please
let us have it so we can continue to deliver your
monthly free subscription. Im sure you want to
know: we dont sell our email list nor do we share
it. Your email address will only be used for your
monthly free subscription and notices about
precinct activities of interest.
To Continue Your Subscription - Please
send your email address to:
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If You Dont Have Email Please let me
know. Write me at the above address or phone
me at 713-876-7011. If we get funded (see next
column), Ill try to continue sending you a printed
and mailed copy until the November General
Election.
Thanks so much for your interest.
Sincerely,
Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues,
Fellow Activists, Democrats, and
Independent Voters,
Many of you know how deeply involved
I've been for the past 3 years in
publishing, creating, and editing this important
monthly Voter Education journal whose ultimate
goal is to reduce election-time nagging. [To see
the archives of previous issues of The Voter
Publications, go to: http://goo.gl/QzReEy.]
Please join me and my team in taking our concern
to its next logical step: to complete a Beta-Tested
model which shows that voter education is a better
way to encourage voters to vote than nagging.
Our Beta Test has already borne fruit. In the March
2014 Boca Raton Municipal Election the voter
turnout in our Precinct 4178 showed a 33% larger
turnout than in the average of all other Precincts
in Boca Raton! Congratulations!
We would like to complete our Beta Test through
the August Primary and the November General
Election to see what turnout a whole years worth
of education produces.
But we no longer have the resources to print and
mail until November. Please help us complete our
Test.
Please go to our GoGetFunding site to contribute:
http://gogetfunding.com/project/beta-test-
increasing-voter-turnout
or use this link: http://goo.gl/yZ0Rdr
Thanks for your interest!
p.s. Any amount ($5, $10, $100 . . .) will help.
p.p.s. Also, a great way to help is:
4 forward this letter to your email address
list, and
4 post this information to your Facebook and
Twitter links
Please help our Beta Test succeed!
5
[Nonpartisan, continued from page 2]
In a nonpartisan race, candidates do not identify
themselves with a party label, such as Democratic,
Republican, Independent, Libertarian, and so on.
Nonpartisan candidate elections are held in conjunction
with the August Primary Election.
Three Or More Candidates In a nonpartisan
race when there are three or-more candidates and no
one receives more than 50% of the vote, the two
candidates receiving the most votes will advance to the
November General Election for a runoff.
Examples of nonpartisan elections include:
Palm Beach County School Board
Circuit Court and County Court judges
General Elections
General elections are held the frst Tuesday after the
frst Monday in November, in even numbered years.
This is primarily the election for national, state and
county offces.
Amendments to the Florida Constitution and local
referenda may also appear on the General Election ballot.
In a November General Election, all registered voters
may vote for any candidate or question on the ballot
regardless of party affliation. ###
When Was The Last Time You Checked
Your Voter Records?
Its very easy to check your voter file. Go to:
http://www.pbcelections.org
Check out the Home screen (shown below).
1. Do a VOTER INFORMATION LOOKUP
Is your name spelled correctly?
Are you registered for the correct party?
Is your birthdate correct?
Is your address correctincluding apartment
number?
If you requested a mail ballot, is it active?
2. Look at MY SAMPLE BALLOT.
Enjoy.
EZ To Know
Is Your Mail Ballot Request Still Active?
Phone 561-656-6200.
Ask "Is my mail ballot request still active?"
If yes, great!
If no, say "Please activate it."
(They will ask for your birthdate no voter ID number
needed)
That's all there is to it!
Do It!
6
State Senator Job Description
By Lauren Thompson, eHow Contributor
Function A State Senator is elected from a district
that is defined by the state. This district is redrawn every
ten years after a national census. In Florida, Senators
serve alongside the states House of Representatives.
State Senators work with county and city officials
to ensure that projects are completed and that their
votes in the Senate represent their districts needs and
concerns.
Florida State Senators are elected for 4-year terms and
are limited to serve 8 years.
Important Fact Though the office does not hold
a lot of glamor or notoriety, State Senate seats have
become springboards for other offices. Presidents
Franklin Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter and Barack
Obama were all members of their state senates before
campaigning for the job of President of the U.S.
State Representative Job Description
By Lucy Friend, eHow Contributor
A State Representative is a member of a states legislative
branch serving in the House of Representatives. These
professionals are elected into office, and represent a
district or local constituency of a designated number of
citizens.
Responsibilities Working with other legislative
officials, state representatives draft and pass state bills
into law while addressing the important issues of their
constituency.
Term House members are elected for 2-year terms
and can serve up to 8 years.
School Board Members Job Description
School boards are nonpartisan. In most districts,
members serve four-year terms, and terms are
staggered so seats dont become open all at once.
School districts are complex corporations; they re
often the largest employers in a community and the
decisions they make reach far, affecting jobs, resources
and most importantly, the education of all children.
What do School Board members do? Somewhere
in between the agendas, public comment sessions and
resolutions, school boards make a number of impor-
tant decisions. School boards establish a vision for the
communitys schools. They have to set up and maintain
an effective, efficient organizational structure for the
district that lets the superintendent and administra-
tors manage the schools, teachers teach and students
learn.
They are responsible for hiring and evaluating a
superintendent, evaluating and adopting policies that
affect all schools in the district, serving as a judicial and
appeals body when conflicts go unresolved, monitoring
and adjusting district finances, and managing the
collective bargaining process in the district.
A school board has a symbolic role as well. The
behavior it shows off in the meeting room, the
rapport among school board members and the
relationships that members have with teachers
and administrators in the district all add up to
the climate of public education in a community.
Whether healthy or dysfunctional, a school board
has a heavy influence on the spirit that characterizes
a communitys impression of its school system.
Vote every choice on your ballot!
Many times, voters have said they only
voted for the candidates at the top of
the ballot. They felt they werent well-
informed enough to choose further down.
If you dont vote every choice on your
ballot you earn a D in Citizenship.
7
D a n I s a a c s o n , E d i t o r
T h e V o t e r P u b l i c a t i o n s
S t . A n d r e w s E s t a t e s S o u t h
6 0 5 5 V e r d e T r a i l S o u t h , A p t . H 2 1 9
B o c a R a t o n , F L 3 3 4 3 3 - 4 4 2 3
5 6 1 - 4 7 0 - 7 2 5 8
Job description:
Fascinated with
politics.
Interested
in brushing
elbows with
PBC politicians/
candidates.
Excellent computer
skills.
Wants to learn
desktop publishing:
Corel InDesign and
Photoshop.
Excellent writing
skills.
Likes to call people
on the phone.
Interested in
getting ads from
politicians.
Interested in
public service.
Hours flexible.
Work from home.
Get paid in The
Cookie Ladys
cookies.
5-10 hours per
week
School community
service credit
Call:
Dan Isaacson, Editor
713-876-7011
disaacson6055@aol.com
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
Commission Ad Salesperson for
The Voter Publications.
713-876-7011
2 Student Interns
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Send Contributions to:
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8